


The River Siren

by Gilli_ann



Series: Pornathon challenge fics 2014 [8]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Legends, Quadruple Drabble, Summer, Summer Pornathon 2014
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4222278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilli_ann/pseuds/Gilli_ann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While living alone in the forest, Morgana enjoyed a few happy summer days - and nights - by the river.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The River Siren

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted for the 'I know what you did last summer' bonus challenge # 1 of Pornathon 2014.
> 
> Disclaimer: BBCs Merlin belongs to the BBC and Shine TV. I intend no copyright infringement and make no profit.

Morgana's hovel turned stifling under the sweltering summer sun.

The heat made her many magical objects and remedies stink so horribly that she sincerely wished she could bottle the smell and send it to her enemies. But the warmth and light of the sun also brought back memories of the lazy summer days of her childhood, - the time when she and Arthur would occasionally sneak out of the castle in the evening to go skinny-dipping in the river.

She discovered in herself a longing to relive those carefree days.

And so, on summer evenings when the sun dipped behind the trees and the shadows grew long, she would undress completely and summon her white mare. She'd ride in the nude through the woods, revelling in the rush of freedom, the warm air caressing her body, her long tangled hair streaming out behind her. 

It was a heady, sensual experience that simultaneously energized and relaxed her.

She'd ride all the way to the river and dive into its cool, shadowed depths; - swimming and splashing with abandon, she'd revel in the constant flow of clear water across her skin.

Afterwards she'd sit on a flat rock by the river, untangling her wet, clean hair while singing an old, sweet love song that Gwen used to hum in the evenings long ago. 

In those moments she was brimming with something elemental, almost akin to peace and simple joy. It was as if the young, headstrong and happy Morgana had reappeared inside her, and she'd laugh aloud and lift her arms above her head to reach for the summer stars in the sky.

If she also happened to meet a young man or two from the nearest village then, and if she took their hands to lie down on the green grass by the riverbank in order to celebrate being alive in the most fertile time of year, she did so gladly and without regrets.

In the river villages the stories of a fey and alluring river siren were shaped that summer, and year by year those tales grew in the telling. The beautiful siren and her blissful nights with the young men of the villages lived on in legend long after Morgana herself was no more. Those were wondrous tales of desire, pleasure and even love, and no-one ever dreamed of connecting them with the dark myths surrounding King Arthur's cruel witch sister.


End file.
